US Approves Sale of Nerve Agent Antidote to Saddam

The Washington Post
Published on: Thursday, 12/12/2002, A section,
edition, zone, A01
Dateline: UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 11
Inches: 26 Words: 990 Slug:

U.S. Approved Sale of Atropine Iraq Imported Millions of Doses Of Antidote for Nerve Agents
By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 11 -- With U.S. approval, Iraq imported more than 3.5 million vials of the drug atropine over the past five years, despite concerns that it could be used to inoculate Iraqi soldiers participating in chemical warfare, according to U.N. sources and confidential U.N. documents.

Between late 1997 and November 2001, French, Russian and Italian companies signed at least five contracts through the U.N. oil-for-food program to sell Iraq more than 3.5 million ampuls of the nerve agent antidote, which is also used to treat heart attacks. More than 2 million units of the drug have already been delivered to Baghdad, U.N. sources said. The rest is awaiting delivery.

The disclosure comes as the United States is struggling to convince the U.N. Security Council to place new restrictions on the sale of the drug because of Pentagon concerns that the Iraqi army may use the drug to protect its soldiers if it mounts a chemical attack against U.S. troops.

On Tuesday, John R. Bolton, undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, listed atropine and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (also known as Cipro), among 36 categories of items that should be subject to U.N. Security Council scrutiny before they can be shipped to Iraq. In 1999, a Jordanian firm, Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Co. Ltd., sold Iraq an unknown quantity of Cipro, a broad spectrum antibiotic that is used to treat exposure to anthrax and a host of other infections, according to U.N. documents.

Until May, the United States had the right to prohibit or monitor sales of atropine to Iraq but rarely exercised it. The United States relinquished its authority as part of a council agreement to ease restrictions on the import of civilian goods into Iraq.

The Pentagon became alarmed about the potential military uses of atropine after discovering that Turkey had been approached by Iraq to supply it with massive quantities of atropine and auto-injectors, which are designed to treat victims of pesticide or nerve agent poisoning. A senior Turkish official said that Ankara is investigating the report, which was first disclosed in the New York Times. Until now, however, it was not known that Iraq had succeeded in buying supplies of atropine or that they were obtained through the U.N.-sanctioned oil-for-food program.

U.N. officials said the quantities of atropine purchased by Iraq were consistent with dosages used for medical purposes. More than 3.4 million vials, the vast majority, contained 0.6-milligram doses of atropine sulfate, an amount typically used to speed up the heart rate of heart attack victims.

Chemical warfare experts said a dose of 2 milligrams is typically administered to victims of nerve agents or pesticide poisoning. On the battlefield, they said, the drug would probably be administered with auto-injectors. U.N. officials said Iraq has never imported auto-injectors through the oil-for-food program, which permits Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food, medicine and humanitarian goods.

"The advantage of an auto-injector is that somebody can give one to himself, he can give it to his buddy right there. It doesn't require medical care," said Frederick R. Sidell, a retired U.S. Army expert on chemical warfare. But Sidell said that the lower doses used for heart treatment could be easily converted to military uses if administered with a common needle and syringe. "You just give three times as much. For any casualty who is mildly exposed it might be enough."

The United States has cited the Turkey case to underscore the importance of preventing Iraq from obtaining a host of items that could be used to develop long-range missiles and chemical, biological and conventional weapons. Those items, which are listed in the document Bolton presented council members, include global positioning systems, radio intercept devices, night vision technology and communications jamming equipment.

Asked why the United States had not previously added atropine or auto-injectors to the list of items requiring Security Council review, John D. Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, "I honestly don't know the answer." But he said that the United States has received a commitment from the other council members to consider placing new restrictions on them before the end of the month.

Russia and France have signaled that they are willing to add atropine and some other items to the United Nations' 302-page list of dual-use products that require Security Council scrutiny. But they have made it clear that they want other items taken off the list. Russia, for instance, has proposed easing restrictions on trucks that it sells to Iraq.

A spokeswoman at the U.N. Office of the Iraq Program, which overseas all sales to Iraq through the oil-for-food program, declined to name the companies that sold the medicines to Iraq. But confidential U.N. documents and U.N. sources revealed that the Italian company Alfa Intes Industria Terapeutica Splendore signed a contract to sell about 3,000 ampuls of atropine sulfate to Iraq in late 1997.

The French pharmaceutical company Laboratoires Renaudin sold nearly one million ampuls of atropine to Iraq in July 2000. A more recent shipment of 1.5 million ampuls of atropine from French and Russian sources was placed on hold by the United States, but it was then approved under the recent procedures without any plans for monitoring its use. It was approved in October and is awaiting delivery to Iraq.

"If a particular item is not on the goods review list, the contract gets approved," said Ewen Buchanan, a spokesman for the U.N. Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission, which is responsible for reviewing contracts.

By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 11 -- With U.S. approval, Iraq imported more than 3.5 million vials of the drug atropine over the past five years, despite concerns that it could be used to inoculate Iraqi soldiers participating in chemical warfare, according to U.N. sources and confidential U.N. documents.

Between late 1997 and November 2001, French, Russian and Italian companies signed at least five contracts through the U.N. oil-for-food program to sell Iraq more than 3.5 million ampuls of the nerve agent antidote, which is also used to treat heart attacks. More than 2 million units of the drug have already been delivered to Baghdad, U.N. sources said. The rest is awaiting delivery.

The disclosure comes as the United States is struggling to convince the U.N. Security Council to place new restrictions on the sale of the drug because of Pentagon concerns that the Iraqi army may use the drug to protect its soldiers if it mounts a chemical attack against U.S. troops.

On Tuesday, John R. Bolton, undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, listed atropine and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (also known as Cipro), among 36 categories of items that should be subject to U.N. Security Council scrutiny before they can be shipped to Iraq. In 1999, a Jordanian firm, Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Co. Ltd., sold Iraq an unknown quantity of Cipro, a broad spectrum antibiotic that is used to treat exposure to anthrax and a host of other infections, according to U.N. documents.

Until May, the United States had the right to prohibit or monitor sales of atropine to Iraq but rarely exercised it. The United States relinquished its authority as part of a council agreement to ease restrictions on the import of civilian goods into Iraq.

The Pentagon became alarmed about the potential military uses of atropine after discovering that Turkey had been approached by Iraq to supply it with massive quantities of atropine and auto-injectors, which are designed to treat victims of pesticide or nerve agent poisoning. A senior Turkish official said that Ankara is investigating the report, which was first disclosed in the New York Times. Until now, however, it was not known that Iraq had succeeded in buying supplies of atropine or that they were obtained through the U.N.-sanctioned oil-for-food program.

U.N. officials said the quantities of atropine purchased by Iraq were consistent with dosages used for medical purposes. More than 3.4 million vials, the vast majority, contained 0.6-milligram doses of atropine sulfate, an amount typically used to speed up the heart rate of heart attack victims.

Chemical warfare experts said a dose of 2 milligrams is typically administered to victims of nerve agents or pesticide poisoning. On the battlefield, they said, the drug would probably be administered with auto-injectors. U.N. officials said Iraq has never imported auto-injectors through the oil-for-food program, which permits Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food, medicine and humanitarian goods.

"The advantage of an auto-injector is that somebody can give one to himself, he can give it to his buddy right there. It doesn't require medical care," said Frederick R. Sidell, a retired U.S. Army expert on chemical warfare. But Sidell said that the lower doses used for heart treatment could be easily converted to military uses if administered with a common needle and syringe. "You just give three times as much. For any casualty who is mildly exposed it might be enough."

The United States has cited the Turkey case to underscore the importance of preventing Iraq from obtaining a host of items that could be used to develop long-range missiles and chemical, biological and conventional weapons. Those items, which are listed in the document Bolton presented council members, include global positioning systems, radio intercept devices, night vision technology and communications jamming equipment.

Asked why the United States had not previously added atropine or auto-injectors to the list of items requiring Security Council review, John D. Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, "I honestly don't know the answer." But he said that the United States has received a commitment from the other council members to consider placing new restrictions on them before the end of the month.

Russia and France have signaled that they are willing to add atropine and some other items to the United Nations' 302-page list of dual-use products that require Security Council scrutiny. But they have made it clear that they want other items taken off the list. Russia, for instance, has proposed easing restrictions on trucks that it sells to Iraq.

A spokeswoman at the U.N. Office of the Iraq Program, which overseas all sales to Iraq through the oil-for-food program, declined to name the companies that sold the medicines to Iraq. But confidential U.N. documents and U.N. sources revealed that the Italian company Alfa Intes Industria Terapeutica Splendore signed a contract to sell about 3,000 ampuls of atropine sulfate to Iraq in late 1997.

The French pharmaceutical company Laboratoires Renaudin sold nearly one million ampuls of atropine to Iraq in July 2000. A more recent shipment of 1.5 million ampuls of atropine from French and Russian sources was placed on hold by the United States, but it was then approved under the recent procedures without any plans for monitoring its use. It was approved in October and is awaiting delivery to Iraq.

"If a particular item is not on the goods review list, the contract gets approved," said Ewen Buchanan, a spokesman for the U.N. Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission, which is responsible for reviewing contracts.